Tuesday, 4 October 2011

A comet discovered by amateur astronomers on Friday, Sept. 30th, disintegrated in spectacular fashion the very next day when it plunged into the sun. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the comet's last hours. The end was punctuated by an unexpected explosion:
There is no known mechanism for comets to trigger solar explosions. Before 2011 most solar physicists would have discounted the events of Oct. 1st as pure coincidence--and pure coincidence is still the most likely explanation.
Could a puny comet cause a magnetic instability that might propagate and blossom into a impressive CME?( Coronal Mass Ejection).The question is not so crazy as it once seemed to be.spaceweather.comSee the video!